For many children, the fathers they remember are often not the ones who simply paid the bills, but those who were always physically and emotionally present, Vanessa Obioha writes.
One of the most common excuses for an absent father is that he provides for his family. In many homes, paying the bills is seen as the ultimate measure of fatherhood, and a man who keeps food on the table is readily described as a good father.
But is provision enough?
If that were the case, fathers who leave this earthly plane before seeing their children grow up would hardly be missed, especially if they left behind a sizeable inheritance.
For accountant Ifeoma Emeliuwa, who lost her father at the age of eight, the memories they shared during those few years remain some of her most treasured possessions.
